First, spend a couple of months obsessing about a story with no narrative center.

Second, start quoting Democratic elected officials saying Hillary Clinton could be in trouble if it turns out there’s an actual story - which there isn’t.

Yarmuth said the controversy is happening early enough in the campaign, that as long as Clinton is being truthful and did not use her personal e-mail server for classified materials, the issue can “boil over.”

“But, I still think there is a chance this could upend her campaign,” Yarmuth cautioned.
In her Tuesday news conference, Clinton said the only people talking about the e-mail controversy are the media — which is not letting up.
“I think if she intentionally misled or lied to the American people and did something that was clearly against rules, and knowingly did it against rules, if that is the ultimate conclusion, then I think she has disqualified herself,” Yarmuth said.

So if we lived in a parallel universe where the facts were different then they are now, we could very well be looking at a different outcome. That’s very deep. And nonsensical.

Third, write up a column speculating about who might run for President if the non-story succeeds in knocking Hillary Clinton out of the race. Be sure to include the obligatory reference to a billionaire, Bruce Wayne candidate - who doesn’t actually exist, either.

2. Billionaire outsider: The Howard Schultz bubble appears to have burst. But someone with a profile like the Starbucks chief executive — very rich, liberal, never before involved in politics — could be very appealing for voters looking for something totally different. The remarkable success of Donald Trump on the Republican side suggests that people are desperately in search of anti-politicians. Why does that person need to be rich, too? To pose a real threat to Clinton, you would need someone with the ability to write a $50 million check to his/her campaign to fund efforts to qualify for early state ballots, pay staff and run TV ads.

There’s your Post/Politico Washington establishment nonsense boiled down to one deranged paragraph. Send up the bat signal! Maybe Bruce Wayne will respond. Whoever he is. The pining for a centrist, wealthy Third Way cardboard cutout is so thick you could cut it with a knife. Somebody needs to tell Chris Cillizza that the Post society set no longer dictates who wins elections. Katherine Graham and Ben Bradlee are dead, and Bob Woodward hasn’t written anything good since the 1970s.

Three of the people who actually live and breathe and exist aren’t running: Al Gore, John Kerry, and Elizabeth Warren. Joe Biden, who might yet run, is ranked #3. Why? Because Chris Cillizza is allergic to reality based stories. Fantasies are way cooler.

Let’s call this recipe “Fact Free Political Cooking for the Media.”